Went last week and ehhh... The pizza I ordered took forever to get to me (Their texting system wasn't working so I had to wait at the counter for 20 minutes while my wife was waiting at our table with her food getting cold) and once it did get it, the pizza was already cold. I think we'll wait 6 months or so for the bugs to work out. Also yea, the prices are too much if I'm expected to tip for counter service.

ETA: I also don't think it's fair for them to ask for tips prior to them actually delivering the food. At Parlor, you have to pay/tip as you order. So, in essence, it's more of a "good faith donation" than a "tip."

A "good faith donation" is just a fancy term for a bribe, which is probably just as effective that a tip at getting you good service. Just ask the political donor class.

FWIW, asking for tips in counter-service places correlates very strongly with the adoption of tablet- or touchscreen kiosk-based devices with software that (presumably by default) includes a tip prompt.

I admire what they are trying to do, and while it isn't "cheap," I didn't find the prices too insulting. Inflation still happens, and if fast food chains like Shake Shack are charging $10+/meal, I don't think these prices are crazy considering they are aiming for a way more unique experience and ambiance. I'm fine with people disagreeing with the quality for the price or just not liking the food, but I don't think the entire place should be written off because a hot dog is $12 at one location. As for tipping at a counter service place, it's just the world we live in now with restaurants and society tied to a low-wage system that relies on tips. There is also just a higher standard now for easily accessible food, and I feel tipping at places like this keeps the job a bit more attractive to good employees, who in turn make your food experience better.

My hot chicken sandwich from the Mother Clucker was very good, and our okonomiyaki from Yaki-Ya was just okay (batter was not quite right - too dense, and the versions I've had in Japan had more sauce - also mustard in the versions we had along with the kewpie and okonomiyaki sauce). I'd had a better rendition of the okonomiyaki when chef Kenzo was still at Shio (but we are also biased toward the one I make at home). Shishito peppers were very good, and the chicken yakitori was sub-par and kinda half-assed. A lot of the other stalls looked and smelled great, so we can't wait to try more places.

I should say I have NOT written this place off at all - I think they did a great job and I'll definitely be back. I had the Farm to Market burger - which was fine. I still want to try Mother Cluckers. The prices are what they are - eating out is never really cheap.

pretty big crowd at lunch today. a number of the places upstairs were out of multiple menu items. agree that prices are $1-3 higher than i'd put them at in a vacuum, but it's a different business model than the usual restaurant and it seems fair to me. i wonder if the individual kitchens get any benefit from the higher margin bar sales or if it's just a kill what you eat model on food sales alone? anyway, i'll happily pay $1-3 more to go here instead of $1-3 less to go a place that i think sucks. the air conditioning alone was worth the premium over an actual food truck today.

I am also smitten with Karbon. The cochinitas tacos and Turkish pizza (not really a pizza) and so good, I think about them often. The Detroit pizza at Providence is excellent. Old fashions on tap, all day happy hour on Monday (I advise against more than 2). I should be there now.

A couple of weekends ago I made my first visit to Parlor as part of an informal group pub crawl to visit some of the new places that had opened in the past year or so (Bar K, Dott Boss, Made In KC Cafe, Spokes, Parlor, Afterword, Jim Leedy, and XR... though we failed to make it to the last three after running out of stamina and available stomach volume.) We loved this place. Each of us ordered food from a different restaurant and everyone was happy. I didn't think the drink prices were unreasonable, they were pretty comparable to what I'd paid at the other places we visited that day. The texting system worked great, and it was such a cool environment. I'm looking forward to more visits.